


to the good listener, half a word is enough

by badatcommunication



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst-y? But only because my sons are bad at communication, Dialogue Heavy, Discussions of Homophobia, M/M, Minor Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, Somebody pls help Kindaichi read the mood, U SEE WHAT I DID THERE, Unrequited Ennoshita Chikara/Yahaba Shigeru, Watari is the Best (tm), awkward confessions, i am namedropping my own username somebody pls stop me, poor Ennoshita sorry son
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 14:56:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12633423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badatcommunication/pseuds/badatcommunication
Summary: Kyoutani is a good person and he does not deserve half the shit that happens to him, that includes - but is not limited to - walking in on his high school crush, that happens to be their annoying reserve setter, kissing some guy from the Karasuno team. What the fuck is his life.Or: Kyoutani is not acting like himself. Oikawa knows why, Kindaichi thinks he knows why. Miscommunication ensues.





	1. Hm, Oikawa, I think your son is broken

**Author's Note:**

> unbetad, i'm gomen.

Contrary to popular belief, Kyoutani Kentarou is actually a good person. He even knows why he gained the fame - it was a mix of his appearance, general dislike for the school’s dress code and Oikawa's stupid "Mad Dog-chan" nickname. People seem to think he is some sort of young delinquent, and that his absence from the Seijou volleyball team was due to a suspension - he actually just didn't care enough about the team to want to bother with team dynamics and what not, but his love for volleyball and a drive to become the next ace eventually brought him back. But he let's people speak because, honestly, he gives a total of zero fucks to the opinion of some random high schoolers. Anyway, point is: Kyoutani is a good person and he does not deserve half the shit that happens to him.

"Yo, Kyoutani, you are looking incredibly red over there" Hanamaki felt the need to point out, obviously only succeeding in making the boy's cheeks burn a shade brighter.

" 'm not" he mumbles without the usual bite, and can feel the third year's stare burning into his face.

"...listen, Oikawa, I think one of your children is broken" Matsukawa stage whispers to the setter, who turns his eerily perceptive eyes on him. He instinctively tries to avoid eye contact and makes his face as neutral as possible, while picking at his food. He absolutely should not have accepted the invitation to eat ramen with the team, specially since Oikawa can read into everyone’s deepest -

"Let Mad Dog-chan be, Mattsun, something is obviously bothering him" he then makes a pause for dramatic effect, theatrically holding his chin with a hand, narrowing his eyes at some point right over Kyotani’s shoulder and saying "...gee, I wonder where Yahaba-chan is" While that may look like a non-sequitur to the rest of the team, Kyoutani's heart squeezes in his chest. Damned perceptive captain, honestly. He vaguely hears Watari saying the reserve setter already had plans today.

"You also feeling sick, Shittykawa? It's not like you to act like a decent human being"

"Rude, Iwa-chan, I am always a delight. No wonder you don't have adoring fans like m- OUCH Iwa-chan" he dramatically start rubbing the spot Iwaizumi just slapped on his arm.

"Hey, there is Oikawa, back at it again with his bullshit" Matsukawa snarks. Kyoutani is just glad that he is a forgotten topic of conversation for now.

"Ah yes, the one constant in our lives. Oikawa's bullshit, even after a crushing defeat" Hanamaki amends. Oikawa whimpers. "Too soon?"

"See Makki, you have no class, bringing up such a conversation topic while we are eatin-"

"What? Karasuno? Tobio-chan?" Oikawa is back to his whimpering, and Iwaizumi looks about ready to pop a vein "You know what, maybe you should have gone to Shiratorizawa"

"MAKKI. SO RUDE! You will never be able to get a cute girlfriend if you keep acting like this!"

"Good thing he has me then" Issei points out, and the whole table turns their attention to the duo. Takahiro looks shocked by all of two seconds, before smirking at Issei.

"Ayyy, accidentally outing ourselves mid dinner to our parents 11/10 on our way to becoming a Hollywood romcom"

"Ayyyyyy"

"Christ, you guys manage to be more insufferable with each passing day" Hajime looks like he is trying to hide a smile, but manages to sound like his gruff self.

"Unfair Mattsun, Makki, how do you hide this from your dear friends?" Oikawa says through a pout.

"Not so observant after all, oh grand king" Hanamaki points out, smirk in place.

"Well, with you guys it's a bit impossible to tell when you are only doing it for the laughs or not" he is still pouting, and suddenly his perceptive eyes are back on Kyoutani and the wing spiker feels a block of ice in his stomach "See Kyouken-chan, for example-" Iwaizumi interrupts him with a slap to his head.

"Don't expose the underclassmen to heal your hurt ego, Trashykawa!" is said over Oikawa's whiny "That really hurt, Iwa-chan".

Kyoutani suddenly feels like it's not safe to be there anymore so he gets up, mumbles an apology, and is out of the restaurant before anyone can say anything else - Oikawa said he was going to pay, anyway. Being suddenly away from his team and the ruckus they were causing is squeezing at his chest, and what made him blush before now is fueling him with the need to cry. Stupid feelings. Stupid Yahaba. See, Kyoutani is a good person and the last thing he deserved on an already shitty day was to walk in on his crush locking lips with some random dude from Karasuno, soon after having him announce he wasn't going to dinner with them - to be with that second string player no doubt, the fuck was his name again. Ennoshita something-or-another. See if he cares (he cares immensely). He grabs the earbuds from his pocket, puts on some random song on his cellphone in the hopes to drown out his thoughts, and goes home for the day.

 

* * *

 

If the day before was shit, the next day is...weird. On top of yesterday’s loss - and everything that happened after, honestly - today is back to school. At least it’s day off for the volleyball team, that would be even worse. Lunch time finds Kyoutani sulking in his usual place, sitting under a tree, when he feels there is someone standing at his side. He glances over. Fuck. Correction, there are _two people_ standing at his side.

“Hey, Kyotani-kun” Watari tries nervously

“Drop the ‘-kun’” He mumbles, still far from his usual bite “Kyoutani is fine”

“Kyoutani, then. Can we sit with you for lunch?”

“Sure” he says without much intonation.

“Wow, you can feel all that excitement radiating from him” the taller of the three sneers, while sitting directly in front of Kyoutani.

“Yahaba, please stop trying to pick unnecessary fights” Watari mutters anxiously, while sitting beside his friend “Speaking of, we actually came here to talk” he says that with a pointed glance towards Yahaba.

Kyoutani himself finally raises his stare towards Yahaba, who looks far too pretty in the school’s lilac shirt, dark red tie and white blazer.  Unfair. He must be glowering, because Yahaba raises an eyebrow at him, before glowering right back. Watari cleans his throat.

“You said you wanted to talk. Well. Talk” He says this to Watari, but the libero looks very pointedly at the taller one.

“I just. Wanted to say that I am sorry. About the throwing you against the wall thing” Kentarou is trying to will himself not to blush at the memory “Don’t get me wrong. I mean what I said but. Coach thinks I should apologize”

“So?” he can't help but taunt.

“So I am apologizing, dickhead” Watari elbows him on his side “I meant it, tomorrow we are back to training, and soon the third years will be leaving. Then it’s up to us, to uphold the Seijou reputation. I will be the setter, and you will be the ace, so we need to be able to work together”

“Are you parroting exactly what the coach told you?”

“Are you deliberately trying to piss me off?"

“Hey kiddos, play nice” Watari interrupts “Kyoutani, we think it’s important for you guys to get along, not only as ace and setter, but seeing as Yahaba is probably going to be our captain”.

“That is still up to voting” Yahaba mumbles “Anyway, Watari is right, I don’t want to have a strained relationship with anyone in our team so. I am sorry”

“It’s. uh. It’s fine.” Kyoutani says “‘t was nothing really”

“Uh-huh” and he sounds skeptical, the fucker “Watari, could you leave us alone for a bit?”

Watari looks like he is doubting his friend’s sanity, and their ability to not start a fist fight as soon as he turns his back. Nevertheless, after a conversation that involves solely glances and their eyebrows moving, he gets up and goes towards the main building of the school. For lack of other thing to do, he watches Watari go.

“I pegged you for a lot of things, Kyoutani” Yahaba starts, and Kentarou looks over at the harsh tone, seeing the setter glaring daggers at him “But never for a homophobe”.

“A what now” he can’t help but growl back.

“Kindaichi tells me that yesterday you were acting weird enough at dinner, but immediately after Hanamaki-san and Matsukawa-san admitted to their relationship you got up and leaved” Yahaba is still glaring daggers at him “Funny thing is, I think I know what got you so out of it even before our senpais assumed their relationship. But don’t worry, our teammates think you are just a sore loser”.

“And what would that be” he grunts out. Yahaba looks positively ready for _murder_ at this point.

"Oh. You see, after the game I ran into one of Karasuno’s reserve wing spikers, Ennoshita Chikara, his name. Rumor has it he will be next year’s captain of the team, you know” he looks at Kentarou like he is expecting some kind of reaction, and though jealousy burns bitter inside the wing spiker tries to show nothing on his face. At least now he understands what Yahaba is getting at with the whole homophobia accusation - it will be a whole new kind of embarrassing to get out of this one, because he can deal with the delinquent fame, but of a homophobe… “So I was talking with him” Yahaba continues, eyes still searching “And he was trying to get a confession out, you know. Says that he finds me charming.”

“Poor guy doesn’t know you” Kyoutani mutters. Yahaba’s glare lessens a little at the usual jab, but he keeps talking as if not interrupted at all.

“So he is trying to get out a confession, right, but some brute just slams open the door to the locker room, poor Ennoshita panics and kisses me, and the brute is right out, slamming the door shut again” at this he looks pointedly at Kyoutani “So back to my initial point - and in case I wasn’t clear enough you were obviously the brute in the scenario. You see Ennoshita kissing me and gets all _rage-y_ , still goes out with the guys for whatever reason, but then Hanamaki-san and Matsukawa-san are _gaying_ all over the place and that’s it, Kyoutani out” he takes a breath is back to looking ready for murder “I won’t allow it on my team, so keep that in min-”

“What do you mean Ennoshita kissed you? As in, you didn’t kiss him back?” Kyoutani interupts his rant.

“That’s what you got from that whole spiel?” he sighs, long-suffering “Not that it is any of your business, but no I didn’t. I appreciate the feeling, but I don’t reciprocate it. Besides I. hm. Forget it. I just wanted you to know that we, as a team, won’t allow any kind of -”

“Listen, uh” Kyoutani begins, tone much softer than he intended after all the accusations thrown his way by none other than _the guy he currently has a crush on_ “I’m not homophobic”

“Uh-huh” back to sounding skeptical “You just don’t want it flaunted in your face, is that it?”

“No, I-” 

“You just don’t think it’s normal, right?”

“Will you let me speak, for once?”

“You won’t want to change in the same locker room as me? Don’t worry, Kyoutani, my _bissexualness_ won’t infect you”

“I’m gay” he raises his voice slightly, not enough to draw attention to their conversation, but enough to make Yahaba silent.

“You...what?”

“I’m gay, moron, so you can stop with the speech”

“Oh...Hm. In that case, what was the whole thing at the dinner yesterday about?”

“Not like you were there to know” he mutters

“Since when do you even care? Anyway, I had promised my parents I’d be home for a ‘celebratory dinner’. Turns out it became ‘let’s pretend Shigeru isn’t about to cry dinner’. Who knew I’d be a sore loser, huh” he then blinks, frowns “Anyway, we were talking about your rage quit”.

“I did not _rage quit_ . Oikawa was being his usual bothersome self, is all” he dismisses, not wanting to be the second guy Yahaba rejects in less than 24 hours “Aren’t you all about me not talking back to the _senpais_?” At that he looks pensive, as if trying to remember something - and that is dangerous, this conversation needs to end _right about now_.

“Is that so” is all he gets out before the bell signalizing the end of lunch rings. Kyoutani doesn’t even bother responding, he just _bolts_.

 

* * *

 

At the end of the school day, Kyoutani is almost out of school grounds by the time someone catches up to him and starts walking by his side, a quick glance shows that it’s Yahaba. He is barely able to contain the sigh.

“Watari had something very interesting to say” he begins “About your behaviour yesterday, that is”

“Why are you so interested anyway” he mutters angrily, but the setter pretends not to hear.

"He says you looked all _flushed_ when you got there”  the wing spiker keeps walking, making his way home, staring straight on “I wonder why...Maybe because you saw me and Ennoshita right before heading out?”

"I thought we already established that I don’t have a problem with you liking guys, or whatever”

“Yes, sure, but here is the thing. Maybe you have a problem with _me_ being with another guy” Yahaba is suddenly blocking his path, standing in front of him, and making it impossible to look anywhere else.

“You dumb? That doesn’t even make any sense”

“Uh-huh” he is starting to hate with fervor the mocking tone Yahaba uses when saying that “Aren’t you jealous then?”

Kentarou is suddenly hit by the uncomfortable realization that somehow Yahaba _knows_ about his silly crush, and he has the guts to come mock him about it.

“You know what, fuck off” he grunts, pushing the taller boy aside, and marching home without looking back even once.

 


	2. Interlude: Yahaba should listen to his Good Friend Watari (™)

“I am going to murder you”

“Now, Yahaba, my dearest friend, let’s not be harsh” Watari says from behind the notebook he is using to shield himself - as if it would have any effect “Besides you gotta help me out here I really don’t know what I did to deserve such a fate”

“From what you told me about the dinner yesterday I got the impression that Kyoutani might be interested in me, you know, and then I went and made a fool out of myself and now he hates me”

“That’s… Look, even Iwaizumi-san could see how out of it Kyoutani was yesterday. Oikawa-san says he was sulking because you weren’t there, but if you say he saw you and that Karasuno guy _getting it on_ , he wasn’t only sore you were not there, he was mourning the fact that you _supposedly_ didn’t like him”

“Getting it…? It was barely a kiss, Watari” he splutters, blush high on his cheeks “Besides, I call bullshit. I directly asked him if he was jealous and he told me to fuck off - his exact words” he slumps himself even further on Watari’s computer chair. The libero finally sits back from his sprawl on the bed, lowering his shield.

“Oh really, and how did you approach the subject, _oh-tactful-one_?” Yahaba opens his mouth to answer but get’s interrupted “Let me guess. You cornered him and asked it, probably after sassing him a bit, without even mentioning how _you_ feel about it” the setter looks like he wants the ground to open and take him “Ha! Got it in one, another best friend point for me”.

“I hate you”

“That’s harsh Yahab-” he receives a cushion to the face “So rude, our new captain” he throws the cushion back, but Shigeru catches it “I say you guys need to get better at communication. Also, stop listening to what terrified first years have to say about it, honestly Yahaba, listening to Kindaichi of all people. The guy can be thicker than Iwaizumi-san - he thought Kyoutani was homophobic, I still can’t believe you listened to him”

“It was plausible”

“Uh...No it wasn’t. If only you asked your best friend in the world - that is me, by the way - before throwing such accusations at your ace”

“He is not mine” is the mumbled response he gets, along with a bright red high on the setters cheeks.

“‘Yet’, Yahaba, is the key word here” Shigeru only rolls his eyes in response, but his cheeks are still burning. “Anyhow, good talk, get out of my house”

“Wow, yes, I can feel the friendship. Such a beautiful thing, that”

“Indeed. In fact, you will be thanking me tomorrow. See, I am kicking you out so you can go and talk to Kyoutani”

“What? No!”

“Yes, otherwise I am going to intervene - don’t try me, you know I would - the last thing we need at the volleyball club tomorrow is the two of you angsting all over the place. Now _shoo_ ” he gets up from the bed and starts making shooing motions towards his friend until he gets up and grabs his backpack. Then he sees Yahaba to the door, but not before making him send a message to Kyoutani asking to meet in half an hour in a park not far away from the latter’s house.


	3. to the good listener half a word is enough (but might as well get it all out in the open)

If you asked Kyoutani what made him get out of bed and go the damned park near his house to meet Yahaba, he wouldn’t know. Maybe it was the tone of the message, that looked very serious and nothing like Yahaba’s usual texts (granted, they don't _usually_ text each other - but the few times it had happened before, it was always short,  with abbreviated words and with an attached insult at the end). Case in point, the last received text from the setter ‘Would you please meet me @ the park near your house in 30? Need to talk’ rests under the last ‘cant bliev u were late again moron’ of a few days prior.

He is actually surprised when he arrives at the small park and Yahaba is already there, sitting in a bench, trying to get a nearby dog to come to him and failing miserably - poor thing looks downright terrified. He snorts at the scene, causing the small dog to promptly sprint back toward its owner, and getting the setter’s attention. He looks a bit shocked and a lot embarassed, but gets up and joins Kentarou where he is standing, under the biggest tree of the park.

“You...actually came” he almost breaths the words out, speaking softly. Kentarou tries to ignore the rabitting of his heart, for now.

“Wasn’t I supposed to? You were the one who sent the message” it’s fun to rile Yahaba up, because he is quick to lose his temper, but the boy looks determined not to be baited, and takes a deep breath.

“I’m sorry” he clears his throat at that “For the accusation I’ve thrown your way earlier, that was unfair of me” he looks like he wants to say more, but nothing comes out.

“That it? It’s fine. Listen, I agree with coach, we should get along. I just-” he takes a breath and avoids the setter’s eyes, since they are talking might as well come clean “-I only ask you not to mock me”

“I- What?”

 “I get it, Oikawa must have told you that he figured the reason I was out of it yesterday was because you weren’t there. To be honest all through dinner all I could think about was that you were somewhere swapping spit with what’s-his-face-”

“Ennoshita” Yahaba mumbles, sounding...amused? but Kyoutani still won’t look his way.

“- Whatever. And you were right, I got jealous. But please don’t use this to mock me. I promise you I will get over it. Eventually.” the wing spiker is ready to turn on his back and walk back home when he sees Yahaba move and suddenly he has long arms wrapped around him, Yahaba’s face buried in the crook of his neck “The fuck” is all the reaction he can muster, his arms stiff at his sides.

“I could not accept Ennoshita’s confession-” he begins, lifting his face and holding it _so close_ to Kyoutani’s own, making it so that the latter has to look slightly up to look at the setter “-because for a while now I’ve had a crush in one of my teammates. And I thought it was never going to work out, since we are not exactly close. So I never said anything. But if you feel that way..." he takes a breath, moves his hands to cup Kentarou's face "Kyoutani-kun. Would you give me a chance?”

Kyoutani feels like he is living an out-of-body experience, at this moment, but manages to regain control of his own arms to hug Yahaba back. His brain-to-mouth coordination on the other hand seems lacking and before he thinks about it he gets out an automatic “Just ‘Kyoutani’ is fine” and then dodges the hands that were cradling his face to hide his blushing cheeks in the taller’s chest “Of course I will give you a chance. Moron” he gets out, at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end ~

**Author's Note:**

> I woke up today and decided to make my son Kyoutani suffer ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ (and then the fic got away from me and it turned sappy yippee ki-yay)
> 
> Kudos are appreciated, comments will make my day etc


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